


keep my eyes above the waves

by eberbae (dustyjournal)



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-15
Updated: 2017-06-15
Packaged: 2018-11-14 14:50:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11210325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dustyjournal/pseuds/eberbae
Summary: Mystery Guy swims closer, and Matt would expect him to start walking up once it gets shallow, but then he sees more than just a flash of green.He sees a long, emerald green fish tail.Like a mermaid tail.





	keep my eyes above the waves

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bluenorth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluenorth/gifts).



> Happiest of birthdays to you, LJ! I'm so glad I could post this in time for you <3

Matt awakens to a clear, bright morning, the kind of morning that will soon turn to a sweltering heat. Matt’s an early riser to say the least, and as much as he loves the sun he needs to do his chores before the heat becomes unbearable. Then, if he times it right, he can head to the beach for a swim when the rest of the town is just finishing breakfast.

He rushes through mowing the lawn, trimming the trees, tending the garden. He takes his time while feeding the horses and dogs, though. Gran would never let him see the light of day if he mistreated any of her sweet animals.

Gramps strolls into the stables just as Matt’s finishing up. He wakes early as well, sometimes doesn’t sleep at all.

“Fine job, Matty,” Gramps assures. He’s the only one who calls Matt that, to everyone else he’s just Matt. (Matthew, if Gran has a bone to pick).

Matt smiles. “Anything else you need?”

Gramps declines and sends Matt on his way. “Try not to outswim the naiads!” He calls as Matt jogs off in the direction of his old pickup.

Gramps always says things like that. He has books, and books of that kind of stuff, and sometimes Matt thinks they’re more than just the bedtime stories Gramps would tell Matt whenever he’d sleep over. But now, after living with them for over a month this summer, Matt suspects that it’s more of a reality to Gramps. The best he can do, he figures, is indulge Gramps every once in awhile.

The beach is sparsely populated, as usual, when he pulls up and parks in his usual spot. It’s not until he gets to the lifeguard chair - just before someone goes on duty - that he notices the flag has been changed to a warning for strong currents. The water looks calm, but Matt’s no fool. He doesn’t need one of Gramps’ stories to know not to mess with waves.

He shrugs it off and sets off walking down the beach. He can find a place a little farther down to cool off.

The weather only gets worse as he ventures down the beach. It’s unnerving, how quickly the sky turns a dark grey and the wind picks up. His muscles tense, just as much from the cold as from the exertion to walk into the wind. Ahead the sky looks blue, as does behind him. It seems only the stretch of beach Matt knows is getting darker and darker.

He’s just about to turn back when he spots debris up ahead, half-submerged and wedged against the large boulders from where the tide is still high. How he hadn’t noticed it before, he doesn’t know. It looks like a wooden fishing boat, one of those ancient ones that aren’t allowed licenses anymore. At least, Matt thinks so. It’s bent almost completely in half, planks sticking out haphazardly as if warding people away. The waves splash up almost exclusively against it, as if the ocean has a personal vendetta against it.

Matt approaches warily, staying just where the water hits the shore, trying to get a good look if anyone or anything is trapped inside.

“Hello?” He calls out dumbly, stepping one foot into the water. There’s no answer, just the start of rain, fat drops that are almost too warm.

He’s about to write off the whole effort when he sees a flash of movement, then gets hit with a wave so strong that it knocks him flat on his back.

And that - well, that’s just not _possible._

He wipes the water from his face and pushes himself up quickly, looking for the source of whatever just happened. There! Just by the edge of the boat, he can see a flash of green. Probably some kids playing a prank.

“Hey! It’s not safe out there!” Matt calls. The rain is really picking up now, and Matt doesn’t want anyone getting hurt.

Another wave comes toward him, like a wall of glass, but he dodges it, landing in the packed-down sand. He has no idea how this is happening - _naiads,_ his brain supplies uselessly - but he knows he has to investigate.

He strips his shirt, shucks his sandals, and runs into the water. He dives in smoothly, always keeping his head above the water. He catches that same green again, an emerald green, just above the water.

He’s almost to the gathering of boulders when something wraps around his ankle, _hard_ , and he gets pulled under the water.

His first thought isn’t to panic, or to try swimming up to the surface. No, his first thought - an idiotic thought, but he’s had a couple of those already today - is to look down and see what’s grabbed him.

In no world did he expect to see a human hand, using a long piece of seaweed as the rope.

Finally, Matt’s brain kicks into gear. He’s being pulled toward the open ocean, and he can’t breathe. He has to - but there’s no air -

He doesn’t even question it when he hears the sound like a shrieking dolphin above him, nor that someone wraps their hands around his waist, yanking him away. There’s a flash of light, red maybe, and the world goes hazy, then black.

\--

It’s bright. Too bright.

Matt blinks open his eyes, but shuts them right away. It’s got to be mid-afternoon at least, by the the way the sun’s beating down and the air feels sticky and dry at the same time.

His head is throbbing, his chest aching. The last thing he remembers is someone saving him from...something. But, as he finally manages to keep his eyes open long enough to look around at the beach, there’s no one else around.

Weird.

When he stands, he realizes he’s caked in sand. He doesn’t want to go in the water anymore, not after...that, but he should at least clean off his hands.

The strangest thing happens when he goes to place his hands just under the water’s edge, though: the water recedes, as if it’s alive. He pulls his hands away, and the water returns to normal. Once he brings them closer, it recedes again.

“What the _fuck,_ ” Matt says aloud. He maneuvers to sit on the beach and attempts to put his foot in the water. Same thing.

He’s just about to contemplate running straight to the ocean just to see what happens when a voice yells, “Please stop!”

Matt startles, scrambles up the beach. The voice, a man’s voice, came from the water. It sounded just as frightened as Matt is right now.

“Wh- what happened?” Matt stutters. He can’t spot the source of the voice, no matter where he looks.

Then, a head appears out of nowhere, just to his left and about ten feet into the ocean. Like it was invisible.

“Just...don’t try to come in, okay?” The guy calls back. He’s got blond hair, fair skin, but that’s about all Matt can tell from here without his glasses and with a throbbing headache. “You can’t come in.”

Matt doesn’t really know why, but he backs up more onto the beach. “Why can’t I? Who are you?”

The guy doesn’t swim closer, but Matt can almost feel his sadness from where he is. “My group, they - I don’t know, they like you, and -”

From far away, thunder cracks. It sends a shiver up Matt’s spine. It seems to send Mystery Guy reeling too, because he moves away and looks to the sky, hands up.

“Well, what am I supposed to say?” Mystery Guy yells, apparently to no one. He sounds young when he says it, like he could be around Matt’s age. Then he turns his attention back to Matt, and Matt remembers to be freaked out.

“Please just tell me what’s going on,” Matt pleads, trying to sound more determined than desperate.

Mystery Guy sighs. Matt can’t see it, or hear it really, but he somehow knows that it happens. “This will probably be a whole lot easier if I just come over there.”

Matt almost gives a sarcastic _uh, yeah_ , but the way Mystery Guy says it makes a wave of sympathy pass over him instead.

Mystery Guy swims closer, and Matt would expect him to start walking up once it gets shallow, but then he sees more than just a flash of green.

He sees a long, emerald green fish tail.

Like a mermaid tail.

_What?_

“Mer _man_ ,” Mystery Guy corrects as he drags himself up the beach, though Matt doesn’t think he had said any of that out loud.

Matt stares, wordlessly, as the tail seems to evaporate before his eyes, leaving behind pale, human legs.

It’s kind of a shock, which is why Matt’s taken aback when Mystery Guy says, “Uh, stop staring, would you? I thought humans weren’t big fans of nudity. And pass me your shirt. Uh, _please._ ”

Matt averts his eyes with a flash of shame, but he also feels like he’s about to laugh. The second emotion doesn’t feel entirely his own, which is just weird. He tosses his shirt in Mystery Guy’s general direction, and waits until he gets an all-clear to look back.

Mystery Guy is sitting cross-legged, Matt’s tank top laid carefully over his lap. His short hair is drying quickly in the heat and sun, kind of going in every direction, and his bright blue eyes are studying Matt like he knows every one of Matt’s secrets. It’s weird.

Something like surprise passes over Mystery Guy’s face, but it’s gone as soon as it appears, followed by a much softer look.

“I’m Drake,” Mystery Guy - Drake - says, and offers out his hand for Matt to shake.

Matt takes Drake’s hand easily, shaking firmly. “Matt.”

Drake smirks, like he already knew that. “Nice to meet you, Matt. Sorry you had to see that. Thanks for not running for the hills.”

“Uh, no problem?” Matt tries.

Drake rolls his eyes, but then he smiles at Matt again and it’s like Matt said the best thing in the whole world. Matt thinks that Drake is about to explain, y’know, everything, but instead Drake starts studying his own toes, then combing through his hair with his fingers.

“This is so weird,” Drake says, off-hand.

Matt nods, though he’s not sure what constitutes as weird to Drake. “Do you, um. Do you need me to find you shorts?”

Drake seems to remember himself when Matt asks, and flits between startled to resigned quickly.

“I guess you’ll have to,” Drake replies sadly.

“Okay, stay right here. Or, uh, do whatever you want, I guess,” Matt stammers. He doesn’t really know if he should be telling a merman what to do.

He barely registers that Drake has given him a very kind smile before he runs off, sandy, damp clothes sticking to him as he makes his way up the beach and to his truck. Fortunately, he has not one, but two pairs of shorts and a towel in the cab.

He isn’t gone long, but in that time Drake has managed to build an impressively-sized sand castle.

“That’s pretty good,” Matt compliments lamely.

“Really?” Drake perks up, smiling at Matt, then at his sand castle. “I see kids making them all the time. It always looked fun.”

Matt’s own chest swells with pride, too. Strange. He says before really thinking, “So this is your first time on land?”

Drake looks startled, like Matt had completely forgotten the whole merman thing. “Um,” he starts, drawing circles in the sand, “I. Yeah. It is. I’m kind of different from my group, that way. A lot of them come on land at least once in awhile, some every day.”

“That’s okay,” Matt comforts. He sits down beside Drake, like he needs to calm whatever unease he’s stirred up so quickly. There’s a pull towards Drake too, like Matt wants to be near him, see if he’s real and not just a byproduct of almost drowning.

“Oh yeah, that,” Drake acknowledges, sounding guilty and sheepish. Matt’s about to ask how Drake seemed to have read his mind _again_ when Drake continues, “I have a lot to explain, Matt. Can we go somewhere to talk? Maybe wash off too?”

Matt agrees easily. How could he not; he’s suddenly found himself dealing with a merman who seems to know a lot about Matt’s world.

“We could just rinse off some of this sand before we head to my truck,” Matt offers as he stands back up, holding up his towel to show that there’s a way to dry off, too.

But Drake shoots up, a little wobbly on his legs but stabilizes when he puts a hand to Matt’s shoulder. It’s still cool, like he hasn’t just been touching hot sand for the past twenty minutes.

“You can’t!” Drake exclaims. He looks out to the ocean, swallows once. “We can’t. Not right now.”

It’s weighted, solemn, so Matt doesn’t press further. He nods and holds out the shorts he brought for Drake, then averts his eyes as Drake pulls them on. Then, Matt puts on his other pair, thankfully dry enough so they don’t chafe against his legs. Once done, they walk up the beach. It’s not far, but Drake needs to grab Matt’s arm a couple of times to stop from falling over.

“Sorry,” Drake apologizes under his breath. “Not used to these.”

“It’s okay, really,” Matt says kindly, then pulls on Drake’s arm so it wraps around Matt’s shoulders. He tries not to register the thrill of arousal as he does so, but it’s pretty difficult to ignore. “You’re doing great,” he adds, but avoids Drake’s gaze.

When they get to the truck, Drake walks to the passenger side and gets in like it’s second nature. Matt tries not to ogle, but Drake notices.

“What?” Drake says defensively. “Just ‘cause I’ve never been on land doesn’t mean I don’t know how to fit in.”

Matt shrugs in acceptance, then starts driving. He’s not sure why his first thought is to go back to his grandparents’ place, but it just feels right. Gramps and Gran are most likely still home, but they respect Matt’s privacy enough that they wouldn’t ask if Matt brought Drake into his bedroom to talk. Plus, if things get...fishy, Gramps could probably help.

“I’m not going to hurt you, dude,” Drake says.

That’s the last straw.

“How do you _do_ that,” Matt accuses.

Drake doesn’t look surprised, but his mouth twists into a thin line. He takes a few moments to reply. “I can read minds. Everyone in my group can. It comes in handy.”

“So you can read humans’ minds too?” Matt asks, trying not to feel like his privacy’s being invaded. “What about dogs? Cats? Horses?”

Drake laughs softly, but it ends flat. “Uh, no, no, no, and no.”

It takes a second for Matt to realize that there were four _no_ ’s in that sentence. “So, what does that make me?” He asks.

Drake doesn’t reply, but the way he looks out the window tells Matt that Matt isn’t human anymore. Maybe he never was, he considers.

By that time, they’re pulling into his grandparents’ driveway. Gramps’ car is gone - that must mean both of them are out grocery shopping or something. That doesn’t stop him from feeling like his heart’s taken a trip south.

He looks to Drake and isn’t comforted by the obvious look of unease on his face.

“Explain,” Matt says. It’s not a question, not when he’s starting to feel hysterical.

“Inside, please?” Drake asks, and it’s so polite that Matt obliges.

They grab some pink lemonade as they make their way through the kitchen on through to Matt’s room, and Matt’s whole body feels instantly better. He goes back for the pitcher, and by the time he gets settled on his desk chair, Drake sitting cross-legged on Matt’s bed, half the pitcher is gone.

He’s not sure why, but that causes another foreign wave of panic to pass over him.

“I’ll explain the emotions thing first, I guess, but I kinda have to explain everything” Drake admits. He looks pained, and Matt wants to do nothing more than to ease whatever troubles are causing Drake to look this way.

“Okay,” Matt consents.

Drake takes a breath, takes a sip from his glass. “We’re, uh, soul-bonded. Recently soul-bonded.”

And that, well. That’s just about the last thing Matt had expected.

“Wh-” Matt starts, but Drake interrupts him, sounding desperate.

“It’s my fault, Matt. I’m sorry. I came of age to begin looking and I just wanted to _know_ and then when I found out it was you, a human, I couldn’t help but ask my friends for advice. But it spread, and then everyone went on the search for you. They manipulated you into coming to that secluded part of the beach, no matter how bad I tried to make the weather over there.”

“Wait, wait,” Matt interrupts. “You can control the weather?”

Drake is stunned for a moment, then bursts into laughter. “That’s,” he says, then laughs some more. “That’s your burning question right now?”

Matt starts laughing too; it _is_ pretty funny. “Seriously, though!” He presses.

Drake stops laughing but the smile stays on his face. Matt really likes his smile.

“Yeah, I can,” Drake says. “Not all merfolk can, though. Most can just do waves. I just...practiced. A lot. And it only works when I have my tail.” He says the last part longingly, and Matt’s heart breaks just a little for him.

“Good to know,” Matt says, offers a small smile. “I guess, go on to the rest of the story?”

Drake nods. “One of them pulled you under. They knew what I’d have to do if they attempted to drown you.” His voice is bitter and angry, and those same emotions rise in Matt. He’s pretty sure they’re just as much his own as they are Drake’s.

“See, when a human gets pulled underwater by a merperson, there’s not much anyone else can do about it,” Drake continues. “I had to act quickly. I had no choice.”

He takes a moment. Matt doesn’t break the silence.

“When a merperson solidifies the bond with their soulmate, the magic works to favour life. So I knew that if I soul-bonded with you, you would live. But that also meant…well. I think you can probably guess.”

Matt thinks back. The flash of light. Drake yelling at him to stay away from the water. It makes sense, but he still takes a moment to get the words to form on his tongue.

“I’m a merman too, now.”

Drake sighs, head down. “I’m so sorry. That’s why we can feel each other’s emotions, too. That’s a soulmate thing. You’ll be able to read thoughts soon and get some other skills that come with time. But Matt,” he says, voice breaking, “I’m so, so sorry.”  

Matt shakes his head and reaches for Drake almost instinctively. “No!” Matt refutes, putting his hand on Drake’s shoulder and trying - and failing - to catch Drake’s gaze. “Don’t be sorry! You saved me, Drake. I’m alive because of you.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t get a _choice_ ,” Drake emphasizes, which Matt has to admit he has a point.

“Did I ever?” Matt asks, unsure of what the answer will actually be.

It’s then that Drake looks up, eyes swimming. “I had a plan. I was going to come on land, just try to get to know you. Take you on a date. You know, play it cool.” His mouth raises into a half-smirk, like he still likes the idea of it. Matt tries not to swoon, but he thinks Drake can tell anyway.

“You’re sweet,” Matt says, then moves his hand on Drake’s shoulder to hold Drake’s hands, clasped together in his lap. Drake lets him do it, even rubs a thumb over Matt’s dry skin.

“Can you forgive me?” Drake asks sincerely.

Matt smiles, going for coy. “Maybe if you take me on one of those dates you’d been planning.”

\--

As far as being spontaneously turned into another creature goes, Matt can’t find too many reasons to complain.

Sure, he’s still avoiding the open ocean because Drake says that’s the recipe for instant tail, which will likely attract all of Drake’s “obsessed relatives”. But otherwise, everything’s basically the same. Well, and he now has Drake.

Drake’s the kind of guy Matt could have waited his entire life for. That’s not the bond talking, either - Drake’s legitimately funny and sweet and scarily smart, respectful and kind to Matt’s grandparents like they’re his own.

Gramps and Drake have a long conversation not a week after Drake turns up. Matt lets them talk and plays Scrabble with Gran instead; he assumes Drake is explaining everything again but in even more detail. When Gramps walks into the kitchen afterwards, Matt notices a spring in his step. Drake sits down, relaxed and smiling at Matt easily. Matt doesn’t say anything about it, just sets up two more spots for the next game.

\--

Drake takes Matt on one of his planned dates the night after. They walk to a restaurant on the beach, a locally famous one with amazing seafood and tapestry that looks like it was all found at the bottom of the ocean.

“I’ll give you three guesses why,” Drake whispers to Matt.

Matt stifles a gasp. As much as he’s accepted that merfolk secretly live among humans, it still amazes him how this whole other world exists without anyone noticing.

Once they’re done their meal, the owners come out and greet Matt and Drake themselves. They're gorgeous, seeming all sorts of relaxed and content, and they greet Matt with a hug like he’s a long lost friend.

“Welcome,” the woman says. The man says nothing more.

“Thank you,” Matt replies truthfully. The whole exchange settles some latent anxiety he knows belongs to both himself and Drake.

They leave, promising that the bill is on the house. Matt and Drake thank them and promise to come back very soon.

When he sits back down, Matt asks Drake, “What was that pink light between the two of them? Is that a … y’know, an _us_ thing?”

Drake smiles openly. Drake looks his best when he’s happy, Matt muses.

“Yeah, that’s their bond,” Drake explains. “Only others of our kind can see it. Usually they start out red and fade to pink over time.”

Matt flushes, thinking how his and Drake’s bond is probably bright red. He grabs his glass of water to hide it.

_He’s so cute when he blushes._

Drake’s voice is clear in Matt’s head, and it startles him so much he almost drops his glass.

“I think I just…” Matt trails off, distracted by how giddy Drake looks.

_Read my mind?_ Drake thinks.

Matt nods.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Drake asks out loud.

“Yeah,” Matt agrees. It comes out softer than he means it to be, but he doesn’t mind because it makes Drake blush too.

“Look,” Drake starts quietly. “I know you keep saying I shouldn’t apologize for this whole thing, but let me say it one more time, okay? I’m really sorry you never got a chance to make your own decision about me, and my life. Soul mates is pretty much the biggest thing you can drop on someone, and you’ve been so cool about it. So, uh, sorry, and thank you.”

Matt’s heart swells with a mess of emotions, so much so that his breath catches. Sure, he’s going to be staying here full time now, but he was already considering that when he said he’d come help his grandparents out for the summer. And, really, Drake’s been worth it.

He doesn’t know how to put any of it into words, so he just thinks all happy, comforting thoughts in Drake’s direction. Drake must get the message, because Matt feels all tension melt away from Drake’s side of the bond.

It’s definitely too early for the L word, but it still pops into Matt’s brain as he and Drake are walking to a lookout spot that Drake said he’s always wanted to see. It’s a hike, but they still manage to hold hands most of the way up.

Once at the top, it’s Drake’s turn to be speechless. Matt’s never been up here and he has to admit that the view of the long stretch of blue ocean against the pink and purple sky is gorgeous, but Drake looks stunned.

Matt comes up behind Drake, wraps his arms around Drake’s waist and hooks his chin on Drake’s shoulder. He fits perfectly, and they settle into it.

“It looks so...different up here,” Drake says quietly, after long, comfortable moments of silence.

“Yeah,” Matt agrees. “It does.”

Drake turns in Matt’s arms so they’re face-to-face, mouths only a few inches apart. They haven’t kissed yet, but it feels natural, _right_ , for Matt to put his lips to Drake’s.

The kiss is soft for only a moment. Drake pushes against Matt even more, cupping Matt’s cheek with his hand as if to hold him there in fear of him leaving. Matt kisses back enthusiastically, deepening it as if to cement in Drake’s mind that he’s not going anywhere.

The bond augments all of the already-dizzying feelings, so by the time they pull away Matt’s feeling so lightheaded that he thinks he may need to sit down. Instead, he kisses Drake again, just meaning for it to be a peck, but Drake grabs Matt’s lower lip with his teeth and Matt groans.

_You’re going to be the end of me,_ Matt thinks.

Drake kisses Matt for real now, flicking his tongue into Matt’s mouth and grinding their hips together. He pulls back, though, smirking.

_You love it,_ Drake thinks back.

They don’t leave that cliff until after the sun’s long gone.

\--

It’s two weeks after he first met Drake that Matt finally feels ready to change for the first time.

Drake hasn't returned to the ocean in all the time they’ve spent together and Matt can see it - feel it - wearing on him, exhausting him. Matt understands. He knows what it's like to be homesick.

Plus, despite all of Drake’s warnings, Matt’s excited to explore the other half of his life, now. He thinks Drake is excited for him too, with the way he keeps musing over what colour Matt’s tail is going to be.

“Maybe it’ll be brown, like your eyes,” Drake muses as they walk to the beach.

Matt scoffs quietly. “Brown’s...okay,” he concedes. He’s never really really found brown eyes all that special, but it probably makes a decent tail colour.

Drake doesn’t stop up, but he does slow down and look at Matt. “Your eyes are so nice, Matt, you don’t even know.”

Matt can’t help but grin back, but looks away, blushing. Drake says things like that sometimes, like Matt’s happiness is the most important thing in the world.

They get to the beach, and Drake leads Matt to a spot in the opposite direction of where they first met. It’s a calm morning, but Drake’s looks unsettled when he stops them up.

“What’s wrong?” Matt says.

Drake shakes his head. “It’s nothing, really. I just…” He trails off, looks out to the ocean.

Matt grabs both of Drake’s hands and kisses Drake on the cheek. It’s strange, almost, how he’s the one doing the comforting. He’s not worried, not when he has Drake. The anticipation is growing, though. He can almost hear the water calling him.

They both take a deep breath. “Ready?” Matt asks.

Drake nods, once. “Let’s get naked, Matty.”

Matt rolls his eyes, but smiles as he says, “You’re _so_ lame.”

He strips, and runs as fast as he can into the water, diving under once it’s deep enough.

The change is both too quick and not quick enough. It’s like his legs are dissolving and stretching at the same time, and he feels his lungs collapse as gills sprout from both sides of his neck and on his waist. Oxygen rushes in, and when he opens his eyes the water surrounding him is bright and clear, the saltwater having no effect on his vision. His whole body feels warmer, looser, and when he looks down at his hands he can see his entire arms are covered in an almost-invisible coating of...scales? He touches his forearm and it feels just like his normal skin, which seems stranger than anything else.

That’s when he notices his tail. It’s a deep purple, almost black away from the sunlight. It’s long and wide, with the fin at the end spiking out into a brighter, lighter purple.

_Wow,_ comes Drake’s thoughts into Matt’s mind. Weirdly enough, Matt can pinpoint exactly where Drake is behind him, and spins to look at him.

It’s like Matt’s never seen Drake before; his whole being seems at ease in a way that Matt’s never experienced. His tail shimmers an almost luminescent emerald green as the sun’s rays hit it, its width making Drake look strong, formidable. His hair is just long enough to wave around his temples, also glowing in the light. His eyes are somehow an even more electric blue, and Matt gets lost in the sight until Drake swims close enough to touch Matt’s face.

_You’re so…_ Drake thinks, apparently at a loss for words as he regards Matt. _You’re perfect, Matt._

Matt’s not sure if he can blush underwater, but he swears his face heats up. _You’re not too bad, either._

They get so caught up in each other’s sights and emotions, they barely notice when they’re ambushed by a few large forms.

Matt’s tackled to the side by someone obviously much stronger than him, but Drake’s emotions are telling Matt to be annoyed, amused maybe, more than scared. He disentangles himself from whoever thought a bear hug would be the best idea to greet someone, already feeling like he has complete control of his body.

The guy who tackled him is built like a truck, but his buffness and long, silver tail is a little downplayed by the enormous grin on his face.

_I’m Nursey,_ the guy thinks, then grabs the girl beside him, who didn’t tackle anyone. _This is my sister, Kia._

Kia, who has thick, curly hair that surrounds her head like she’s been electrocuted, smiles and waves enthusiastically before elbowing her brother.

_Sorry about my brother, he doesn’t really understand subtlety,_ she apologizes.

Matt just smiles. He’s about to reply, but Drake swims over with two other guys, one with a tail that seems green one moment and blue the next, and the other with one a deep maroon. They’re not as big as Nursey, but they carry a more serious air about them.

_Matt,_ Drake starts, _this is Leon and Connor._

Matt greets them, and they shake his hand.

_I’ve seen you around,_ Leon, the one with the maroon tail, offers. _The swimmer, right?_

_Yeah,_ Matt says. _How’d you know?_

_These guys spend a lot of time on land,_ Drake cuts in, motioning to all four other merfolk. _That’s why_ **_I’m_ ** _the fastest._

That gets some indignant thoughts flying around the group, and pretty soon they’ve all agreed to an open-ocean race back to their home, wherever that is. Matt feels a little unprepared for it all, but lines up anyway.

Drake must sense his nerves because he turns to Matt before he declares the ready, set, go. _You’ll do great,_ Drake reassures, sending comforting energy Matt’s way. _And I’m really not that fast. I won’t leave you behind._

Matt smiles, takes Drake’s hand and squeezes once. _Thanks._

_Ready?_ Nursey asks from the end of their line. He looks itching to go, and Matt’s anxious energy is quickly replaced with competitiveness and a little excitement.

_Ready,_ Drake starts the count. _Set,_ and Matt looks forward, feels his tail twitch with excitement.

_Go!_

And then they’re off, flying through the water, and Matt feels like nothing can hold him back.

**Author's Note:**

> If you think this requires any further tagging, please let me know :D
> 
> Come visit me on tumblr at [eberbae](http://eberbae.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
